SCALEUP DRAWS ON BUSINESS LEADERS TO MENTOR STARTUPS

Venture capital fund ScaleUP Ventures

recently hired Kent Thexton to oversee investment activities and as general partner for ScaleUp Ventures Fund I. Thexton was managing director at OMERS Ventures, the investment arm of OMERS, a pension fund with more than $77 billion in net assets. Highpotential startups in Ontario will receive strategic guidance and mentorship from successful business leaders and technology investors, as well as exposure to leading-edge innovation. Nadir Mohamed, former CEO of Rogers Communica- tions, and Sheldon Levy, deputy minister Training, Colleges and Universities for Ontario and former president of Ryerson University, started the fund to fill a gap in the VC ecosystem, and help create global-scale technology businesses and hightech jobs. The $75-million fund — with investors from private industry plus a commitment of up to $ 25 million from the province of Ontario — targets early stage funding in highgrowth tech firms in markets that are showing traction. For information go to: suv.vc.